Monday Night Raw’s Ricochet will go down in the WWE history books as the first-ever WWE Speed Champion following his win in the tournament finals.
The One & Only defeated Johnny Gargano in the tournament finals in a match that was given a five-minute time limit, far longer than the standard three-minute limit for WWE Speed matches. Ricochet defeated Dragon Lee in the first round of the eight-man tournament and JD McDonagh in the semi-finals to make it to his showdown with Gargano.
Backstage, Ricochet spoke about how it’s been some time since he’s held a championship. The One & Only added that he is set to be the front-runner of WWE Speed and is ready to take on all challengers in matches of any length.
This is the latest accolade for Ricochet who is no stranger to holding championship gold. The 35-year-old Superstar is a former United States, Intercontinental, and North American Champion, the only Superstar in history to hold all three mid-card titles.
More on WWE Speed
WWE Speed is the promotion’s new social media project and will be broadcast exclusively on Twitter/X. The show features Corey Graves as the sole commentator, another first in the promotion’s history as WWE has always favored two or three-man teams. Early tapings included Kevin Patrick before his release in January 2024.
So far, the only matches aired have been tournament matches and all have featured male Superstars. That’ll change soon enough though as Triple H recently confirmed that WWE Speed will also include women’s division matches. At this time, it’s not been confirmed when the next tapings of WWE Speed matches will take place.
There were once discussions for The Rock to end the historic championship reign of Roman Reigns, only for the Final Boss to give up the gold.
Reigns’ 1,316-day run as champion was actually ended by Cody Rhodes at WWE WrestleMania 40: Sunday. The emotional main event saw Rhodes finally ‘finish the story’ two years after making an emphatic return to WWE as part of WrestleMania 38.
WWE had plans at one point for Rock, not Rhodes, to end the title reign of the Tribal Chief at WrestleMania 40, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports. This idea was hardly kept a secret, with The Rock teasing challenging the Head of the Table during his return on the Day 1 WWE Raw. On the post-Royal Rumble SmackDown, The Rock came face-to-face with his cousin and teased the match.
Had it not been for the immense ‘We Want Cody’ movement, the Rock-Reigns match would have gone ahead. The Observer adds that the plan was for The Rock to win the title, only to surrender the gold in order to return to Hollywood. With a new WWE Champion, The Rock would have introduced his own People’s Championship that he’d use for public appearances. Instead, the title was presented to the Final Boss at this year’s WWE Hall of Fame ceremony.
Ending Reigns’ historic run only for the title to be vacated would likely not have gone down well with fans. Instead, the WWE Universe witnessed Cody Rhodes finish his story and defeat Reigns at WrestleMania 40. Reigns hasn’t been seen since WrestleMania while Rock has vowed to return and come for the new Undisputed WWE Champion.
Cody Rhodes’ story may have finished last year at WrestleMania 39, had Roman Reigns and Paul Heyman been unable to influence those in charge at the time.
Reigns retained the Undisputed WWE Championship against Rhodes in the controversial main event inside Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. The decision was panned by fans at the time as the wrong choice with many blaming McMahon (who’d forced his way back into WWE in January) for the call.
At one time, Rhodes was penciled into dethrone Reigns in SoFi, the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reports. That was until Reigns and Heyman convinced both McMahon and WWE CCO Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque to change the finish and give Reigns the victory.
The Tribal Chief and his Wise Man were hands-on with the Bloodline’s creative direction
This change of plans wasn’t (entirely) done to benefit Reigns and extend his title run for another year. The belief at the time was that keeping the gold on Reigns would be beneficial in getting other talent over, including Jey Uso and Solo Sikoa. Jey certainly benefitted from his championship program with Reigns over the Summer which helped elevate the former Tag Team Champion to his ‘Main Event Jey’ role fans see today.
Holding off on the title change was also proposed to be in Rhodes’ best interest. The idea was that keeping Cody’s hunt for the gold going for another year would make his title win more special. Sure enough, Rhodes’ emotional victory at WrestleMania 40 has been praised by fans and critics. The new Undisputed WWE Champion’s next title defense will be at WWE Backlash: France against AJ Styles.
A new biopic detailing the life and career of WWE and UFC alum Ronda Rousey is coming to Netflix with Rousey herself writing for the project.
Rousey’s deal with Netflix will see her memoir My Fight, Your Fight, and the more recent Our Fight adapted, Variety reports. The project has been cooking since 2015 whenParamount acquired the rights to adapt Rousey’s first memoir but regime changes and delays led to the rights lapsing. They were quickly acquired by Netflix with company exec (and Rousey fan) Michelle Evans championing the project.
Rousey has been steadfast in ensuring that she writes the screenplay for the project, and has been honing her skills as a writer. The former Raw & SmackDown Women’s Champion has been connected with Adam Novak, a veteran of the WME media group to develop her skills. Sources close to the process have said Rousey has been putting in extra effort in the project. Netflix declined to comment.
Netflix will soon put the spotlight on Ronda Rousey
News of Rousey’s Netflix project comes at an interesting time for both herself and the streaming juggernaut. Rousey has been very outspoken against WWE in recent months, especially in the wake of Janel Grant’s lawsuit against ex-CEO Vince McMahon. Rousey has also revealed an experience with Drew Gulak that has resulted in the NXT Superstar being pulled from all plans and written off of TV. True to her MMA career, Rousey doesn’t pull any punches when writing about WWE in her Our Fight memoir.
WWE & Netflix
Netflix investing in the story of UFC/WWE star Ronda Rousey is just one example of the streaming giant’s foray into the world of professional wrestling.
The most notable link is Netflix & WWE’s 10-year, $5 billion deal to bring WWE Raw to the service starting in January 2025, along with other WWE programming outside the Untied States.
Netflix also has a Vince McMahon docu-series in the works from Bill Simmons of The Ringer. This project has been in the works for a few years and naturally has undergone some drastic revisions and updates with everything that’s transpired over the past year regarding McMahon’s departure from WWE and the lawsuit from Janel Grant.
For the latest on where things stand on the Netflix Vince McMahon documentary:
TNA Wrestling’s Joe Hendry took inspiration from rock band Creed for their latest musical barbs aimed at rival AJ ‘Top Dolla’ Francis.
Hendry’s songs have proven to be a hit among wrestling fans with his theme song ‘I Believe in Joe Hendry’ recently reaching #1 on the iTunes charts. Before the latest episode of TNA iMPACT, Hendry insinuated that he would apologize for his previous digs at Francis. Instead, Hendry delivered another scathing performance to the tune of Creed’s ‘Higher.’
Hendry’s final barb of his performance referenced to wanting Francis to be fired and stating that it’s happened twice before. The former WWE Superstar was released in 2021 only to be brought back the next year and was released once again in 2023.
This is hardly the first time that Creed have been brought up in wrestling. During the Attitude Era, WWE produced several promotional videos featuring music from the band, including using ‘Higher’ for one of these videos.
Hendry’s musical skills have endeared him to fan as he proves his talents both in and out of the ring. The Scottish star has been trending on Twitter for days as fans rally behind him and his efforts to get ‘I Believe in Joe Hendry‘ broadcast on the radio. With the success of his most popular track, there’s no doubt that there’s no shortage of people who believe in Joe Hendry.
Ethan Page’s three-year tenure with All Elite Wrestling has come to an end with his exit said to be a “formality” at this juncture in time.
Page was removed from the AEW roster page on Thursday, May 2, fuelling speculation that his time with the company was up. Fightful Select reports that the word both in and out of AEW was that he was no longer there, or that his exit was a “formality.”
The All-Ego talent had been a regular on Ring of Honor programming but had vanished from the show in recent months. The report adds that he’d been looking to leave as early as February and had once been set for a feud with Kyle Fletcher over the ROH World Television Champion. These plans were delayed due to Fletcher’s recent Visa issues.
Amid his absence from ROH, Page had taken on more independent bookings and has been promoting his Alpha-1 Wrestling company. He has not publicly commented on reports of his exit at this time.
Page had been with AEW since 2021 after debuting at that year’s Revolution pay-per-view. He quickly aligned with Scorpio Sky and the pair faced Darby Allin & Sting at that year’s Double or Nothing. The match would be Sting’s second match for AEW and his first in-ring match since 2015. Page was later involved in The Firm and feuded with Matt Hardy. His ROH debut came in September 2023 and he would defeat Tony Nese at that year’s Final Battle.
Former AEW TBS Champion has confirmed reports of an injury that is expected to keep the House of Black member out of action for some time.
Taking to Instagram, Hart shared a selfie of herself in a hospital gown with a protective brace on her left arm. The 22-year-old wrestler also shared a three-word message for her comeback, stating she would ‘Recover. Rebuild. Reclaim.’
Hart’s photo comes after reports over the weekend that she’d suffered an injury that was expected to require surgery. As a result, the former TBS Champion is not scheduled for any upcoming AEW TV tapings. She was also not present for this week’s episode of AEW Dynamite which saw the House of Black continue its program with Adam Copeland.
This is the latest setback for Hart who only recently returned from another injury. An undisclosed injury led to Hart missing close to two months of in-ring time earlier this year before she made her return to competition at AEW Revolution 2024.
More AEW Injuries
Hart is hardly the only name on AEW’s roster which has been sidelined due to an injury. Adam Cole has been appearing on AEW TV with the Undisputed Kingdom but has been dealing with a broken ankle since September 2023. Jamie Hayter’s push was derailed due to a shoulder injury suffered in May 2023 and she has yet to compete since then. Kenny Omega was on this week’s Dynamite but it’s expected that it’ll be many months before he can wrestle as he’s yet to undergo surgery for his diverticulitis.
More from Julia Hart
Here are some recent articles regarding Julia Hart as the youngest champion in AEW history recovers from her latest setback:
Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Ric Flair is no fan of an upcoming docuseries from The Rock’s Seven Bucks Productions that’ll dive deep into the collapse of WCW.
The project was announced in November 2023 and aims to give a fresh look at the circumstances that led to WCW going out of business in March 2001. The promotion was purchased for around $2 million by the WWF, less than a year a SFX Entertainment had offered $500 million for the promotion.
"Who Killed WCW?" from our @SevenBucksProd & the Co-Creators of @Darksideofring comes a 4-part series about the meteoric rise and spectacular fall of the cultural phenomenon that was World Championship Wrestling.
While the project has intrigued wrestling fans, Ric Flair, a staple of WCW, is not on board with the docuseries. Taking to Twitter, the Nature Boy criticized the project given that he was not asked to participate in the show.
As Usual More Bullshit, No Interview With Ric Flair Who Was WCW, And Who Made Everyone There For 20 Years. Run By The The Same People Who Killed The Company. How Embarrassing!! A Documentary About WCW Without Me! And According To @EBischoff On @83Weeks, I Was The Greatest WCW… pic.twitter.com/qBHDnZCFM4
Flair is indeed synonymous with World Championship Wrestling and was with the promotion until its last day. The main event of the final episode of WCW Monday Nitro saw Flair lose to fellow WCW icon Sting. Flair has since revealed that the match was requested by Vince McMahon who held immense respect for the pair.
While Ric Flair is no fan of the Who Killed WCW docuseries, the project does have some high-profile support. WWE Hall of Famer and former WCW World Champion Kevin Nash has said that the show will feature the real reason WCW collapsed, rather than WWE’s retelling of events. Whatever you may think of the production, the docuseries will prove to be an interesting watch when it premieres on VICE TV in June of 2024.
More on WCW
Here are some recent articles regarding WCW as fans await the docuseries from Seven Bucks Productions:
Janel Grant was madly in love with Vince McMahon and her lawsuit is an act of revenge, a spokesperson for the former WWE Chairman has recently claimed.
McMahon stepped down from WWE in January 2024 due to Grant’s lawsuit in which she claims she was sexually abused and trafficked by the 78-year-old billionaire. One person Grant was allegedly trafficked to is John Laurinaitis.
“John Laurinaitis has filed a Motion today fully joining in and adopting Vince McMahon’s motion to compel arbitration. Mr. Laurinaitis corroborates Mr. McMahon in publicly declaring that Ms. Grant’s allegations of sexual abuse and coercion in her Complaint are completely unfounded. My client will fight these false allegations together with Mr. McMahon in the proper forum, arbitration.”
This statement garnered a response from Jessica T. Rosenburg, who is part of McMahon’s legal team.
“In January 2024, Ms. Grant, a 43-year-old with a law degree, who was in love with Mr. McMahon and devastated by their break-up, filed an outrageous and false lawsuit to ruin Mr. McMahon’s career and reputation.
“Now, her false allegations are slowly unraveling. Today, Mr. Laurinaitis’ attorney confirmed his client will corroborate Mr. McMahon’s account and expose the lies within the Complaint. Despite their intense efforts, Ms. Grant’s attorneys won’t be able to suppress the truth from coming out.”
Vince McMahon & Janel Grant
This is an ongoing story that is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon, though McMahon reportedly believes the matter will be settled out of court. We will continue to provide updates on the lawsuit as they become available.
GUNTHER made quite the promise to the fans at a recent WWE live event in Vienna, Austria: that he will return to his native land as a WWE World Champion.
The Ring General was at the May 2, event in Vienna and unsurprisingly received a warm response from the crowd. In fact, the response was so overwhelming, that it was difficult to hear the introduction for GUNTHER over the roar of the crowd.
After his match, GUNTHER spoke to the fans inside the Wiener Stadthalle. The Ring General addressed his past in NXT UK and his record-shattering 666-day reign as the WWE Intercontinental Champion. Looking to the future, GUNTHER vowed that the next time WWE comes to Austria, he will be a World Champion.
— Maeve Draal ?????????? (@MaeveDraal) May 2, 2024
This event marked WWE’s return to Austria after last hosting a show in the country in 2019. At the time, GUNTHER was competing as WALTER and held the NXT United Kingdom Championship. The Ring General defended on the November night against Jordan Devlin (now JD McDonagh of the Judgment Day.)
Former WWE writer Freddie Prinze Jr. has had some setbacks regarding plans for his wrestling promotion but believes a big break is just around the corner.
Prinze, best known for roles in Scooby-Doo and I Know What You Did Last Summer, announced plans for a promotion in 2022. Prinze had high expectations at the time and planned for a two-hour show to launch within 18 months. Prinze has also sought advice from those who know a thing or two about launching promotions.
Two years on from his announcement and Prinze’s show is yet to hit the air. The former WWE writer recently revealed that he’d been turned down and on his Wrestling With Freddie podcast, gave more information about what happened.
“It was Warner Discovery. They were the first people that I went to… It’s such a roller coaster going up and down, but it’s never fast when you want it to be fast and it’s never slow when you want it to be slow. So yeah, so it was Warner Discovery that, and I’m not saying that to hate on them or anything like that.”
It’s hardly a surprise that Warner Discovery turned Prinze’s promotion down, as they are already the broadcast partner of All Elite Wrestling and hardly need a new show potentially splitting their viewership. Prinze added that he’s confident that another place he approached is going to say no to his promotion, which may be for the best as Prinze questioned whether they even liked wrestling.
Undeterred by these setbacks, Prinze is confident a deal for his show is coming soon
“There’s two places where I think one is a definite yes and it’s coming because they’ve made multiple calls asking all kinds of questions from creative to financial. When they start talking money, that’s when it’s getting serious.
“And the other place is like a dark horse, kind of a, not a long shot, like a weird choice, but it could be really cool. And if they say, I just want to yes, so whichever one says yes, I wanna put wrestling on TV and put more wrestlers on TV because that experience does nothing but help everybody, including the fans. So yeah, so that’s where we stand with that.”
Time will tell if Prinze gets his wrestling company off the ground, but he certainly is optimistic about his chances. Stay tuned for more updates about the actor’s plans to launch his own company.
The card for AEW Double or Nothing is taking shape with several matches being confirmed during the May 1, episode of AEW Dynamite.
The show will be the sixth-annual Double of Nothing event and take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The will be a homecoming for the Double or Nothing event, as the first show (which also served as AEW’s first pay-per-view) also took place at the MGM Grand
Added Matches
During the May 1, episode of AEW Dynamite, World Champion Swerve Strickland spoke about his title reign and touched on the previous week’s attack on Tony Khan. This incurred the wrath of the Young Bucks who in addition to fining Strickland revealed his Double or Nothing challenger: Christian Cage.
The two-time former TNT Champion was flanked by the Patriarchy. Despite a valiant effort by Strickland, the AEW World Champion was victim to a three-on-one attack by Cage, Killswitch, and Nick Wayne. The group’s leader held up the AEW World Championship in what could be a precursor to AEW Double or Nothing.
The AEW Women’s World Title will also be on the line at Double or Nothing. On Dynamite, Serena Deeb defeated Mariah May after Toni Storm threw in the towel for her understudy. After the match, it was announced that Deeb will challenge Storm for the gold at the pay-per-view.
IT'S OFFICIAL!
Serena Deeb will challenge "Timeless" Toni Storm for the #AEW Women's World Championship!
Few WWE Superstars were closer to Wyatt than his Wyatt Family alum Braun Strowman. Speaking to Insight, Strowman reflected on still feeling Wyatt with him to this day.
“I see him all the time. It’s crazy, it really is crazy. I don’t know how spiritual anyone is, but I had a very deep connection with him. I see him, there’s things that remind me of him constantly. Every day there’s something and I can feel him. He’s still around.”
When asked about how the Wyatt Family changed his career, Strowman was quick to make clear that the group’s impact on him extended past the ring.
“It changed my entire life. I was this kid who was told I was never going to make it. Bullied. Fat kid growing up. And having a group of guys, three talented unbelievable human beings, take me under their wing and show me the ways through this crazy business. Words can’t really explain how grateful I am because I’m not where I am without those guys.”
Was The Rock inspired to return to WWE after a series of public setbacks in the world of entertainment? Some within the promotion believe so.
The Brahma Bull was appointed to TKO’s Board of Directors in January 2024 and quickly found himself taking center-stage on WWE programming. After a shaky start given the immense popularity of Cody Rhodes, The Rock found his place as a heel megalomaniac, creating the popular ‘Final Boss’ persona.
On Wrestling Observer Radio, The Rock’s return was discussed in detail. Some in WWE believe The Rock’s comeback stemmed from more than just wanting to give back to wrestling.
“There were people in WWE who felt like his return to WWE this year was an attempt to turn around a losing streak so to speak. Young Rock got canceled, some of his movies weren’t as successful as hoped for and WWE was an easy win.”
Young Rock’s cancellation came after three seasons of the show, with the final season averaging 1.4 million viewers, under half the 3 million that the show’s initial season brought in. This setback came just one year after Black Adam, a project the Hollywood A-Lister had been attached to for years, flopped at the box office.
What’s to Come for The Rock?
The Rock has almost always succeeded in the world of professional wrestling, so it’s not a surprise that he has returned to the industry he once dominated. On the post-WrestleMania Raw, Rock vowed to return and confront Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.
Here are some recent articles regarding The Rock as the Final Boss continues to make waves in WWE even during his current hiatus:
WWE was right to avoid turning John Cena heel once he became a top star, according to reigning Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes.
Despite the occasional tease over the years, WWE never pulled the trigger on a John Cena heel turn after he became the top star of the promotion. On a recent edition of the Cheap Heat Productions podcast with Peter Rosenberg and Statguy Greg, Rhodes discussed a potential heel turn for himself and compared his position to that of ‘Big Match John.’
“I think minimally about [the prospect of turning heel.] And I could…you never say never. John [Cena]’s never happened, and I think rightfully so. I think what we got there, we look back at now and realize [it was right not to turn him.]”
Cena never turned heel as a top star, though WWE did once have plans for such a turn. WWE was so committed to the idea that the promotion had a new attire and theme created for the 16-time WWE World Champion before scrapping the idea.
WWE has struggled in the 21st Century to create babyfaces with Cena and Roman Reigns being heavily booed by fans though WWE did eventually turn Reigns heel. With Rhodes being that rare commodity of a face accepted across all age ranges among fans, WWE would be wise to keep him as a face, but must find the balance between pushing their babyface WWE Champion without over pushing him in a move akin to ‘Super-Cena.’
Rhodes’ next challenge will be against somebody who’s had no problem turning heel in WWE: AJ Styles. The two will face off at WWE Backlash: France on Saturday, May 4.
Scott D’Amore appears poised to return to the world of professional wrestling, mere months after his abrupt departure from TNA Wrestling.
D’Amore was controversially fired as TNA President by parent company Anthem earlier this year, shortly after the highly-praised company relaunch at Hard to Kill 2024. Cutting D’Amore was met with heavy backlash as the Canadian had worked tirelessly for years to rebuild TNA’s standing in the wrestling world and had been an intrinsic part of the relaunch. The decision to replace D’Amore with Anthem’s own President Anthony Cicone also did not go over well with wrestling fans.
D’Amore’s next chapter in the industry could see him play a huge role in his native Canada, according to a new trademark. The Maple Leaf Wrestling promotion has filed to trademark its name, with Michael E. Dockins making the filing. Dockins, the self-professed ‘Gimmick Attorney’ has covered several wrestling-related trademarks in recent years with Sting and FTR benefitting from his services.
The address listed on the filing is the same address as the Border City Wrestling School, which is owned and operated by D’Amore. The filing allows for the use of the Maple Leaf Wrestling term on various pieces of merchandise as well as at wrestling events. At this time, D’Amore hasn’t publicly commented on the filing.
The history of Maple Leaf Wrestling dates back to the 1970s when Frank Tunney operated the promotion out of Toronto. The promotion was initially known as the Queensbury Athletic Club, which started in back in 1930.
The Maple Leaf Wrestling name was acquired by the WWF in 1984. In 1986, the name was used for broadcasts of WWF Superstars in Canada. The name was used by the WWF until 1995 with the final show being held at the Maple Leaf Gardens in September of that year.
More from Scott D’Amore
Here are some recent articles regarding Scott D’Amore as the former TNA President seems poised to return to the world of wrestling in his native land:
Drew McIntyre is holding nothing back in his feud with CM Punk, and now former WWE Superstar AJ Lee has been thrown into the mix.
Punk and McIntyre have been at odds for some time with Drew taking credit for the injury Punk sustained in January that kept him from competing at WrestleMania. At the April 2024 event, Punk attacked McIntyre, giving Damian Priest the opening to cash in his Money in the Bank contract on Drew who’d won the World Heavyweight Championship mere minutes earlier.
Now, McIntyre has brought up Punk’s wife AJ Lee in the latest escalation of their feud. On the Pat McAfee Show, McIntyre shared how much of a ‘troll’ he can be when it comes to the ‘Best in the World.’
“I’ll tear you apart on social media. I’ll step from behind the keyboard and I’ll tear you apart physically and if I wasn’t married I’d take your girl too. That’s the kind of troll I am.”
Punk and AJ married in 2014, mere months after Punk walked out of the promotion following that year’s Royal Rumble event. Punk received his termination papers from WWE on his wedding day, which was a sheer coincidence according to then-WWE Chairman Vince McMahon. After Punk’s return to WWE in November 2023, fans rallied behind the idea that AJ could return as well, though that hasn’t happened yet.
Punk’s feud with McIntyre has been a highlight of WWE programming in recent weeks, but the two won’t collide just yet. In addition to Punk’s torn triceps, McIntyre is dealing with an elbow injury he has blamed on Punk. Nevertheless, the pair continue to appear on Raw with anticipation growing towards their eventual collision.
More on Drew McIntyre
Here are some recent articles regarding Drew McIntyre as he continues to hold nothing back in his feud with CM Punk:
Italy could soon be host to an episode of WWE TV if the reigning Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes has anything to say about it.
Rhodes was part of a recent WWE live event in Bologna, Italy, and defended his title in the show’s main event against Shinsuke Nakamura. Speaking to the crowd after the match, Rhodes teased bringing an episode of Raw or SmackDown to the country.
“You know we are sold out tonight, this is pretty good showing for Italy. Wouldn’t it be cool to have a RAW, to have a SmackDown?”
WWE has hosted just one episode of TV in Italy throughout the company’s history, that being the April 16, 2007, episode of Monday Night Raw. The show in Milan is best remembered for the WWE debut of Santino Marella who captured the Intercontinental Championship from Umaga (albeit with a big assist from Bobby Lashley.)
Tama Tonga Makes In-Ring Debut
The WWE live event in Bologna, Italy also marked the in-ring debut of Tama Tonga, who debuted on TV as part of Solo Sikoa’s Bloodline very recently. In the third match of the night, Tonga and Sikoa defeated the team of LA Knight and Randy Orton. Despite getting the win, Tonga still fell victim to an RKO from the Viper after the match.
Tonga joined WWE after a nearly-14 year tenure with New Japan Pro Wrestling. This run saw him become a seven-time tag-team champion and four-time NEVER Openweight Champion. It remains to be seen if Tonga will see the same success in WWE but debuting in a high-profile angle like The Bloodline and working with established top stars in his debut certainly bodes well for his future.
WWE CCO Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque believes that everything is possible for WWE’s upcoming Premium Live Events, including a potential WrestleMania in the UK.
During a recent appearance on X Spaces alongside Rhodes, Levesque was asked about a possible WrestleMania in London. The Game said that this is a possibility and encouraged other cities to reach out to WWE.
“The thing about the global nature of what we do, where we are, what we’re doing. I look at the globe. I think everything is on the table for where it goes. You saw the Mayor of London the other day, put out a statement about WrestleMania. I said ‘We should talk.’ And we should. As should the mayors or the leaders of every other place around this globe.
“If they want WWE come talk to us. We’re open for business. We’d love to be there. Wherever our fans are going to be the loudest and the craziest and the most into what we do, it would be an honor.”
Levesque’s comments seemingly contradict those of WWE President Nick Khan who has said that WWE’s main PLEs will remain in North America for the time being. Fans are continuing to wait for confirmation regarding the location of WrestleMania 41 but Minneapolis and Las Vegas are said to be the favorites.
As for Europe, WWE will host Clash At The Castle: Scotland in Glasgow next month with WWE Bash At Berlin scheduled for August. While fans eagerly await a WrestleMania in the UK, there’s no shortage of WWE events coming their way.
For the use of quotes, please give a H/T to SE Scoops.
WWE Speed, the promotion’s new show featuring high-octane action, will feature women’s matches, CCO Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque has confirmed.
WWE Speed was announced in February 2024 and sees three-minute matches, ensuring a fast-paced style between competitors. A tournament is currently underway to crown the first WWE Speed Champion and the show is expected to launch on Twitter/X in full this Spring.
So far, matches for WWE Speed have solely featured male talent. That will change soon enough according to Levesque. During an appearance on X Spaces alongside Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes, Levesque confirmed that the show will feature women competing in Speed matches.
There’s no word yet on whether a championship will be created for the women competing on WWE Speed. This revelation will come as good news to Piper Niven who following the announcement of WWE Speed, poked fun at women often being granted only a handful of minutes for their matches.
The tournament finals for the WWE Speed Championship will see Ricochet and Johnny Gargano face off on the May 3, episode. Ricochet advanced to the finals with wins over Dragon Lee and JD McDonagh while Gargano bested Angel and Bronson Reed to get to the title match.
The new show could be a fantastic opportunity for talent who don’t typically get given attention on TV to build support from fans. This can especially be the case for the women of WWE as with only a select amount of opportunities on TV, several talented Superstars are often left on the sidelines. No women’s matches have been announced for WWE Speed yet but expect more news to come in the coming weeks.
The WWE Draft is not over just yet, as trades are expected to be made in the coming days before the rosters are locked in. The 2024 WWE Draft took place on the April 26, SmackDown, and continued on the April 29, Raw with a total of 56 selections made across the televised and supplemental drafts. Many wrestling pundits and even legends such as The Undertaker have criticized the draft for the lack of significant changes, with the vast majority of Superstars remaining on the brand they were a part of prior to the draft.
WWE went big with their draft coverage, which received added ‘buzz’ given the excitement surrounding the NFL draft. Things aren’t over just yet though as the new rosters don’t come into effect until next week. According to 2024 WWE Draft rule #6, “Rosters will go into effect on Monday, May 6, two days after Backlash France.”
That leaves several days for Raw and SmackDown to trade talent before the new rosters are locked in. In prior years, last-minute trades have significantly shaken up the Raw and SmackDown rosters, giving an added level of excitement to the ‘trade deadline’ that occurs over a week after the main draft.
Late Shakeups
For example, Triple H was drafted to SmackDown in 2004 during the televised draft, but was moved back to Raw days later. Then-SmackDown GM revealed on the post-draft episode of the blue brand that he’d traded the Game for Booker T and the Dudley Boyz. Ironically, Angle became GM after his predecessor Paul Heyman was drafted to Raw.
These post-draft changes will give WWE time to evaluate their rosters and decide if certain talent would benefit on the show they were not drafted to instead. Fans will have to wait until May 6, before we have confirmation as to what the future holds for the rosters of Raw and SmackDown.
Here are some wrestler reactions to the 2024 WWE Draft:
Two-time WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan is looking to move forward from past mistakes after recently being baptized as a born-again Christian.
The Hulkster was baptized in late 2023, in a moment he described as the greatest day of his life. Given his accolades in the wrestling world both in and outside of WWE, that’s quite the claim from the former World Champion.
Hogan’s recent baptism isn’t the first time he’s been part of the Christian faith and for decades, he encouraged fans to “Say your prayers” among other commands. Sitting down with CBN Sports, Hogan reflected on returning to the faith and moving on from the past.
“I accepted Christ as my savior when I was 14 but I derailed. It wasn’t my life. But he has given me the opportunity to prove that I’m faithful and I’ll never make those same mistakes again… My faith, the momentum was overwhelming. There was nothing stopping me.”
There’s no shortage of mistakes that Hogan hopes his faith will ensure he avoids in the future. Hogan has been criticized by fans and wrestlers as a politicker who influenced promotions so he was on top, often at the expense of talented names on the roster. In 2015, racist comments by Hogan came to light which resulted in his removal from the WWE Hall of Fame. He was reinstated in 2018.
The Hulkster is all in for Jesus Christ, and so could you, for the right price. The blue John 3:16 shirt Hogan wears in the video is available for purchase from Hogan’s website. The shirt comes in a variety of sizes and colors and features the bible verse as well as Hogan’s logo on the sleeve.
A higher-up with WWE has categorically denies a report that The Rock was significantly late for WrestleMania 40 earlier this month. TheWrapran a negative piece on Dwayne Johnson this week, accusing the Final Boss of being a nightmare to work with on the set of movies and at other projects.
WWE Executive Vice President Chris Legentil quickly put a statement addressing the aspects of the story that relate to WWE. Legentil says the story couldn’t be farther from the truth. In fact, he says Rock was there several hours early and was a pleasure to work with throughout his entire run this year.
“Dwayne was not only on time for Wrestlemania, he was hours early to help with rehearsal — and a pleasure to work with throughout the entire run.”
‘Red One’ Rumor Killer
Dwayne Johnson’s ‘chronic lateness’ and lack of professionalism on set reportedly caused production delays on his new movie project ‘Red One.’ One anonymous source alleges he ‘relieves himself’ in water battles and has his subordinates dispose it.
A source close to Amazon MGM refutes that claim by The Wrap and calls these allegations “ridiculous and false.”
“Dwayne Johnson and Seven Bucks have been incredible partners on ‘Red One.’ Any reporting that implies that we got to this point with him showing up seven-eight hours late to set is both ridiculous and false.”
The source added that it is “completely normal” for budget fluctuations to happen within 15% of the target, which is what happened with Red One. The Rock has vowed to return to WWE after the filming of his newest project ‘The Smashing Machine‘ which tells the story of UFC fighter Steve Kerr.
The Rock was two hours late to an appearance at WWE World, this was out of his hands, but that was chalked up to WWE commitments and bad traffic getting to the event. When he did arrive, he lelate as he was busy watching the Philadelphia Eagles lose.
WWE NXT Battleground 2024 will be a historic night for the gold brand as the show will see the crowning of the first NXT Women’s North American Champion.
During the April 30, episode of WWE NXT, General Manager Ava announced that the title will be on the line at NXT Battleground on June 9 in a six-woman ladder match. Before that match though, there will be qualifying matches to determine the entrants in the much-anticipated ladder match.
This announcement brought out Jaida Parker, who declared that she wanted to be part of the qualifying matches. She was joined in the ring by Sol Ruca and Arianna Grace who had similar intentions. Up next it was ‘Michin’ Mia Yim, who despite being on the SMackDown roster, wants to be part of the Women’s North American Championship hunt.
The four women brawled before the rest of the NXT Women’s roster came out which led to a bigger brawl in the ring. The qualifying matches are set to begin soon but the entrants have yet to be revealed.
NXT Battleground won’t just be historic for its introduction of the Women’s North American Championship. The event will take place at the UFC Apex and in partnership with WWE’s sister company under TKO Group Holdings. It will be WWE’s first event hosted at the Apex and shows WWE’s commitment to cross-promotional endeavors as part of TKO.
Women’s Mid-Card Championships
WWE will soon have a women’s mid-card title, but this isn’t a new idea. Here are some recent articles about having such a title in wrestling:
Tony Khan was pleased that his father Shad recently appeared on AEW Dynamite, though he wishes his dad’s debut came under better circumstances.
Shad Khan appeared in the closing moments of the April 24, episode of AEW Dynamite, after Jack Perry & The Elite attacked his son. Tony Khan was laid out with a piledriver by the Young Bucks and has been in a neck brace ever since. Khan intends to put the neck brace to good use when he no longer needs it.
Sitting down with SE Scoops correspondent Scott Fishman for TV Insider, Khan spoke about his father’s All-Elite debut and had plenty of praise for his dear old dad.
“It was nice of him to be on the show on one hand, but the reason for it is another. It meant a lot for him to come out to check on me. He is an incredible father and a loving parent and a great man.
“I’ve learned so much from him. I know he cares a lot. Nobody wants to see their son out cold and recovering from a deadly piledriver move. You saw he was concerned. You saw it on his face. He was angry and concerned. Mostly very angry.”
When asked if his father has a favorite wrestler on AEW’s roster, the younger Khan said that Shad has quite a few stars he’s keeping an eye on.
“A few weeks ago I got a text from him during Will Ospreay and Claudio [Castagnoli]. He knew them both. He hadn’t seen much of Will Ospreay. He said Ospreay was amazing. I introduced him to Will, and he is now a huge fan of him.
“He is a huge fan of Kenny Omega, MJF, Jon Moxley, Orange Cassidy, Dr. Britt Baker, and recently “Timeless” Toni Storm And Mariah May. Also, he had some nice interactions with Swerve.”
It’s unclear when, if ever, we’ll see Shad Khan on AEW programming again, though Tony Khan will be operating shows remotely as he recovers from the attack. With The Elite a force to be reckoned with and Kenny Omega’s imminent return to AEW TV, it’ll be interesting to see how the power struggle goes with Khan out of the picture.
More From Tony Khan
Here are some recent articles regarding Tony Khan as the AEW President continues to recover from the attack by The Elite:
